A Sketch of Caroline
by azurefang
Summary: Klaus doesn't have the real Caroline, but he can sketch a good likeness.


A Sketch of Caroline

Disclaimer: The Vampire Diaries does not belong to me.

A/N Klaus doesn't have the real Caroline, but he can sketch a good likeness.

Klaus stood in his "studio" in the remodeled mansion, a north-facing room that he had decided to use for painting. He had talent as an artist; he knew how to draw and paint. In fact, he had learned from a couple of the European masters many years in the past, which meant that he could use the same style of this one or that. He had his favorites. As far as having a unique style of his own went, he did not have one, but the subjects were his own.

Although he had some of his framed paintings in his house, it had been some years since he had done any painting. He had been moving around too much. It was beautiful Caroline Forbes who inspired him to sketch again and to make him want to paint. She had such a lovely young face, fair skin, beautiful eyes, flowing blonde hair. And of course, she had a really nice figure. His love for her made her seem flawless.

She so inspired him that he had gone out and bought sketch pads, pencils, oil paints and supplies, because he had not brought his older supplies from France where he had last painted. He might have used the newer acrylic paints, but he had never practiced with them and wasn't prepared to use them. He loved working in oils.

He had burned earlier sketches that he had made of Caroline because he had been rebuffed and tricked by her. That hadn't erased all his feelings for her in the least. He now had a canvas on an easel in front of him waiting for him to create a work of art, but he was undecided what to do.

Finally, he lightly and carefully sketched a nude, reclining on her side and facing frontward, in the style of Rubens. He deliberately slimmed down the body a bit, because Caroline was not as buxom as what Rubens had liked. She wouldn't want to be called Rubenesque. The face, of course, was Caroline's. The twinkle in the eyes was hers. The smile was hers.

He heard footsteps come into the room and knew it was Rebekah by the determined click of her high-heeled shoes. She came to stand beside him and to study the sketch.

"I don't know what you see in her, Nick," Rebekah said with a snort. "Am I right in believing that she doesn't like you very much?"

"So it would seem. Or perhaps, she just wantsto _pretend_ not to like me," Klaus said with a smirk. "I think she is just being resistant. What is there not to like about me?"

"I won't bore you by listing the reasons," Rebekah said. "But you know she really likes that hybrid of yours Tyler Lockwood."

"I know that. They've known each other since childhood, even though his family is upper-class while her mother is merely a law officer."

"Class is not as important here as in some other countries. Dear brother, you can't make her love you. She's a vampire, so you can't even compel her."

"I'm sure I _can _compel her. I have the power. But I don't want her that way. I want her to come to me because I fascinate her. Because she is drawn to my wit, my charm and my good looks," Klaus said with a wide grin. "Because I treat her like a lady."

He gave his sister an elegant, sweeping bow.

Rebekah rolled her eyes. Dream on, she thought.

"Do you want her because you think you have fallen in love, or just because she's resisting your advances? Is she really just a challenge to you, Nick?"

"She _is_ a challenge, but that's not it, love. My heart skips a beat when I see her. Or you could say she kick-starts my silent heart. I want desperately to take her in my arms and kiss her. Make love to her."

"Then just take her! When have you ever let a woman's resistance stop you from getting what you want? Or a man's, either?"

"You don't understand, Rebekah. I don't want to 'just take her.'" Occasionally, it bothered Klaus a bit that his sister had such a mean streak. He knew she could be sadistic. He himself was much less likely to be cruel.

She snorted and said, "She has made you all sappy and weak. Where is my brother Klaus who is strong and feared by all?"

"I am still Klaus the Feared, love. Still strong, mean, clever, sly, manipulative, and deadly. The Original hybrid vampire. But that doesn't mean I don't have a soft side, a side that can care for someone, that can be patient and gentle."

Rebekah rolled her eyes and let out an impatient huff. "Take her, Nick! Rip her clothes off, throw her down and have at her. Get it over with!"

"That is _so_ crude, sister dear! I would never do that to Caroline, unless she indicated that that was what she wanted me to do," Klaus said, scowling at his sister. "You tortured Damon Salvatore because he lured you into his bed under false pretenses. Do you think Caroline would love me if I did something like that?"

"Yours would not be false pretenses. You love her like an idiot. And she certainly wouldn't torture you for doing it."

"Her anger and hurt would torture me," Klaus sighed.

"Here you are wasting your time trying to capture her on canvas when all around you things are falling apart," Rebekah accused. "Mother has disappeared and abandoned us. Finn has been killed. Really killed! Elijah has distanced himself to who-knows-where. Kol is stuck out in Denver. You should let him kill that boy, that brother of the doppelganger.

"We're in danger here, Niklaus," she continued, trying to make him see the situation. "This little bunch of resistance fighters waging war against our family keeps seeking ways to get us. Serious ways. Even Stefan, who was so close to you for months, is determined to see you defeated. I told you when we were in Chicago that he hated you."

"I know you did. And you were right. He hid it so well," Klaus said with a little bitterness and disappointment, which he felt only briefly.

"They'll keep at it until they find a way. Maybe they'll find more of the white oak. Maybe they'll find some other way. If you hadn't made that witch undo Mother's spell that bound us together, we would _already_ all be dead! That was a very close call."

"I know. But close calls don't count."

"Damn it, Nick! Look, I know you have put a lot of time and money into this beautiful place. And you spent a lot of time trying to make your hybrids, but I think we should both just leave here. Go away. Stop antagonizing these bothersome rebels so they will quit coming after us. They are like annoying mosquitoes that might carry a deadly disease. Leaving is the logical thing, Nick. I want to enjoy this life for a while."

"I don't like the idea of turning tail and running. Admitting defeat," the hybrid scowled. "I'm sure we could kill the lot of them if we really tried."

"Maybe. Probably. But why bother? Why take the chance that they might pick us off one by one? There's a whole world out there. The modern wonders are marvelous. I want to enjoy them! Please give it some thought."

"I'll think about it," Klaus said and he watched his sister walk from the room.

He turned and stared at the sketch of Caroline. If he left Mystic Falls, he would really want to take the doppelganger with him, or all of her blood. And he would love to convince the blonde object of his affection to go with him. He wondered if he could get what he wanted. He was determined to try.

He studied the drawing for a long moment, and then he reached out and touched the lovely face. With a light touch, so as not to smudge the lines, he ran his finger over her lips. He then moved down her neck and to her breasts. He imagined touching the real thing. From there he traced down over her abdomen, past her navel. Her private area was hidden by the way he had drawn her flexed hip and knee. His finger traced down her leg to her foot and to her pretty little toes. He wanted so much to be able to explore her real body, head to toe, to have her body and soul.

He moved to the nearby table, sat down and drew another picture on the large sketch pad. This one had Caroline lying on the couch, but on her back in a suggestive pose. With a Mona Lisa smile on her face, she was looking at another person. He drew the other person standing near the couch at her feet. It was he himself in all his naked, masculine glory. Was it possible he had given the figure a bit more glory than what he really had? What the hell, it was his drawing.

This sketch really had him turned on. It was pornographic and was doing what it was meant to do. It was also frustrating him greatly. He grabbed the picture from the pad, crumpled it up and took it to the cold fireplace. With a match, he set the paper on fire and watched it burn.

He then picked up the house phone and dialed a two-digit number. One of the maids answered. It was Della, a lovely lady in her thirties who had a body Rubens would have loved. Della had skills beyond those of the usual maid. More like those of the proverbial French maid in various movies. When Klaus asked her to meet him upstairs in his bedroom, she willingly headed up the back stairs. She found him quite aroused. Being a good employee, she met the immediate needs of her employer with enthusiasm.

As for the main sketch of Caroline, it remained on the easel. Klaus didn't paint it right away. Why torment himself like that, he figured, although he knew he would eventually apply the paints. Still, he looked at it frequently and he could swear that the glint in the eyes and the smile on her lips were mocking him. It seemed he had drawn her face too accurately. Perhaps, the joke was on him.

A/N This vignette seemed like something Klaus would do. I had to write it and I hope you like it. Please review and comment.


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